8/2/2019 AO5 Climbing Injuries

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Rock climbing injuries

In 1985, Yates and Simpson attempted afirst-ascent of the previously unclimbed

West Face of Siula Grande in alpine style.Several teams had previously tried andfailed to climb this face. Yates and Simpsonwere successful in their attempt, and aftersummiting they descended via the difficultNorth Ridge. Disaster struck on the descentwhen Joe slipped down an ice cliff andlanded awkwardly, smashing his tibia intohis knee joint, thus breaking his right leg.

 The pair, whose trip had already takenlonger than they intended because of badweather on the ascent, had run out of fuelfor their stove and could not melt ice andsnow for drinking water. With bad weatherclosing in and daylight fading, they neededto descend quickly to the glacier, about3,000 feet below.

 Yates proceeded to lower Simpson off theNorth Ridge by tying two 150' lengths of rope together to make one longer 300-footrope. However because the two ropes were

tied together, the knot couldn't go through the belay plate.

Simpson would have to stand on his good (left) leg to give Yates enough slack tounclip the rope, in order to thread the rope back through the lowering device withthe knot on the other side. With storm conditions worsening and darkness uponthem, Yates inadvertently lowered Simpson off a cliff. Because Yates was sittinghigher up the mountain, he could not see or hear Simpson; he could only feel thatSimpson had all his weight on the rope.Simpson attempted to ascend the rope using aPrusik knot. However, because his hands werebadly frost-bitten, he was unable to tie theknots properly and accidentally dropped one of the cords required ascending the rope.

 The pair was stuck in a very bad situation.Simpson could not climb up the rope, Yatescould not pull him back up, and the cliff was toohigh for Simpson to be lowered down. Theyremained in this position for some time, until it was obvious that the snow around

 Yates' belay seat was about to give out. Because the pair was tied together, theywould both be pulled to their deaths. Yates had little choice but to cut the rope inorder to save his own life. Ironically, doing so may very well have saved Simpson'slife as well, as he would have died of exposure if he had been left to hang in the

strong freezing wind for much longer.

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When Yates cut the rope, Simpson plummeted down the cliff and into a deepcrevasse. Exhausted and suffering from hypothermia, Yates dug himself a snowcave to wait out the storm. The next day, Yates carried on descending themountain by himself. When he reached the crevasse he realized the situation thatSimpson had been in, and what had happened when he cut the rope. After callingfor Simpson and hearing no reply, Yates was forced to assume that he had diedand so continued down the mountain alone.

Simpson, however, was still alive. He had survived the 150-foot fall despite hisbroken leg, and had landed on a small ledge inside the crevasse. When Simpsonregained consciousness, he discovered thatthe rope had been cut and realized that Yateswould presume that he was dead. Hetherefore had to save himself. Simpsoneventually abseiled from his landing spot ontoa thin ice roof part way down the crevasse,and climbed back onto the glacier via a steep

snow slope.

From there, Simpson spent three dayswithout food and with almost no water, crawling and hopping five miles back totheir base camp. Exhausted and almost completely delirious, he reached theirtents only a few hours before Yates intended to return to civilization.

Simpson's survival is widely regarded by mountaineers as amongst the mostamazing pieces of mountaineering lore.